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"I think it's a shame it's closed, because so many Stoke fans would go in there before the match because it's on the way. It was always busy on match days.

"That being said it isn't a big shock that it's closed because so many pubs are shutting all over the place. I'm glad that it's going to be used for something but it's a shame that another public house has gone in Stoke-on-Trent."

Stoke City fans at The Railway in Heron Cross

Stoke fans Brian Hawkins and Tony Meek also both used to drink in The Railway.

Sixty-three-year-old Brian, from Mount Pleasant, said: "It was a good pub years ago but it went downhill in recent years. It's had lots of different managers.

"There's too many pubs being turned into flats lately, there aren't enough places for people to go and have a chat anymore. The Railway, The Royal Oak and The Newtown have all gone. We've lost lots of pubs and The Railway won't be the last."